Reverb to be Acquired by Etsy

[Erithon]

I've had good experiences the few times I've bought items on Etsy. Yes, sometimes the sellers can be a little slow to ship but these are individuals who make craft goods, not huge companies with streamlined product lines. The unique items one can find there (I especially love the hand-tooled leather bow quiver I bought for my double bass) are worth an extra day or two of shipping time.

And that won't necessarily translate to Reverb. In fact, it almost certainly won't since they don't seem to be planning to change that sort of interface.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by lowrider

So, I guess there's a lot more Arts & Crafts business than musical instrument business.

Who would have guessed!

My Arts & Crafts interests lay elsewhere, fortunately (think Voysey, G, Stickley, Ruskin, etc.). I have checked out stuff on Etsy but nothing has, so far, persuaded me to buy there. For that kind of Arts & Crafts I look to juried art shows where I do buy from the artists, directly.

[ChrisE]

I have a friend who sells his product exclusively on Etsy and has had over $1,000,000 in sales in just the past 4 years.

He's been trying to get me to go into business with him making custom guitar stands but I haven't really had the time to do it yet, though.

[Pura Vida]

Interesting news. Both are established companies, and as long as etsy doesn't try to completely redesign Reverb, particularly its customer service, then I don't see a downside to this acquisition.

[6L6]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

According to the CEO’s letter from that link, nothing’s gonna change except added support. Not every acquisition story is a doomsday scenario. This will most likely be a good thing.

Have to disagree...

I went through EIGHT corporate buyouts during my working career and each one downgraded our product.

In the beginning they always tell you your quote above. In reality, they don't want anyone to leave until they do their assessment of who they want to keep and who gets pink slipped.

[gr81dorn]

Those mentioning the long wait and differences from the photos to what they got are describing made-to-order products. I've had noting be quick-shipped, great products from Etsy orders for items that were ready to ship and the things I've purchased BTO arrived in the time advertised in the ad. I've also ordered several custom-built or BTO Guitars over the years and waited 2 months to nearly 2 years, so it's not really comparable to suggest BTO items from either platform arrive fast, but stock stuff sure should and does from my experience.

[merlin666]

And there I thought that Reverb belonged to CME. As for Etsy, I have little awareness of them, but then they bought the leading German handicraft sales site some time ago, apparently many vendors of that German site didn't walk, they ran ....

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by tippy5

275 million sounds cheap to me for a company that should be viable for the new and used gear economy.

Wonder if they are in the red?

I bought and sold musical instruments on eBay for a decade before Reverb. They were 9.5%. Reverb came in with a 3.5% and off it went.
Then a few months later eBay dropped its commision fee to match Reverb.
Around the same time, didn't they make it up by buying Paypal for a rip off 3rd party cash babysitter?

Could be commissions going back up, plus the money fees. Horsetrading might reap less under Etsy?

Reverb has about 150 employees, some office space and some basic investment in technology consistent with that of a small software company (Which is all they are). That's pretty much the extent of their investment in running a company that completely dominates an industry. GC/MF, in contrast, has tons of Real Estate investment overhead, inventory, tons of staff, etc.

I'd guess EBITDA at Reverb is extremely favorable AND their model scales SUPER easily in both directions. It's genius.

I can't see how they could be anything other than very profitable.

[HeyMikey]

I expect everything now will incur State sales taxes where applicable, automatic 1099 reporting of sales, and a gradual bump in fees. NBD for businesses who already build those into their pricing, but it will definitely put a dent in individual sales. GASaholic flippers beware. Benefits direct CL and forum sales.

[nedley]

I for one like Etsy and Reverb and have had good experiences with both. I wouldn’t be too worried.
Their business models are similar too

[BrunoBlack]

I’ve used both and have had an excellent experience using both Reverb and Etsy. I wonder how they will deal with the specific Reverb focus. Time will tell, but I’m optimistic.

[Russell G]

No worries, mates. It's a great site connecting artisans worldwide in one place.
One minute you're looking at a guitar strap made in Romania, next you're looking at a piece of jewelry made in Argentina. It can be addictive.

That's how I found Rod at PineGrove leather. Good stuff. New merchants are being added all the time.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

If you make hand-crocheted gig bags this is very good news.

Ha! Post of the day, right here!

[The Growler]

I personally hope Reverb tanks. I would save a lot of money uninstalling that app from my phone.

Just kidding! I hope this works out well for everyone. I like Reverb. I really like some of the articles and you can find things there that aren't everywhere else.

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by HeyMikey

I expect everything now will incur State sales taxes where applicable, automatic 1099 reporting of sales, and a gradual bump in fees. NBD for businesses who already build those into their pricing, but it will definitely put a dent in individual sales. GASaholic flippers beware. Benefits direct CL and forum sales.

They have already started the sales tax thing for the first states to seek enforcement (MN and WA) and have planned roll out to the others. That was happening and inevitable regardless of this deal with Etsy.